How I did it - BUT DON'T DO IT LIKE THIS
THE BRACKETS AND BALL STUD LOCATIONS IN THIS POST DO NOT WORK WITH THE STRUTS I PURCHASED, MY HOOD WAS PUSHED UPWARDS AT THE MIDDLE AND HINGE WHEN CLOSED SO I REMOVED THE STRUTS FOR NOW AND WENT BACK TO USING THE PROP
SORRY FOR THE FALSE VICTORY, NEW BRACKETS AND NEW POST PENDING
Thanks to pics from [MENTION=138011]TorqueOfTheDevil[/MENTION] I decided to keep looking and found a nice set of
Tuff Support hood lift struts on Amazon that mount on ball studs for $35 delivered. Ordered.
I found that the ball studs that came with the struts threaded into the threaded factory holes on the inner fenders referenced in the yotatech thread that originally inspired me, so naturally I installed them there.
NOTE: You can see how I routed the windshield washer hose in the pic on the right.
EDIT: THIS LOCATIONS IS TOO LOW ON THE FENDER AND SETS THE STRUT ON AN ANGLE, PUSHING UPWARDS AGAINST THE HOOD
STRUT SHOULD BE LEVEL TO NOT DO THIS
[ IGNORE EVERYTHING STARTING HERE ]
After some playing and poking around with my hood, I decided I needed ball stud brackets. I measured the studs that came with the Tuff Support kit, obviously, so I knew I needed 10mm ball stud brackets, and found 10mm ball stud brackets on Amazon for $6 (LINK REMOVED) and I ordered them right up.
Again following the yotatech thread as my guide, I chose a location on the inside of the hood support rib for my ball studs, right at the crease/depression, but my brackets were flat and needed to be curved to fit. Out came 2 pairs of channel locks, a 2" diameter heavy pipe and a hammer and in no time I bent, beat and curved the brackets to profile with the hood support rib.
Centering my now-curved brackets over the depression in the rib, I marked the center-punched the holes and drilled them out in two steps to make sure I had them aligned with the brackets.
Using rivets like in the yotatech thread, I installed the brackets to the holes I drilled in the hood rib and attached the struts to the both sets of ballstuds. BOOM done.
[ IGNORE EVERYTHING ABOVE HERE ]
I relocated the windshield washer 90° elbow by removing it from the inside fender with a small flat blade screwdriver and routed the hose behind the relay bracket and secured it with a zip tie. The hose from the elbow to the hood is parallel and inside of the hood strut and routes itself nicely next to the strut when the hood is closed.
In reality, I probably could get away with one strut, two are quite stout, but it looks good and functions well. The only thing I would do different if I had more time (or were less ansty to do get er done) would be to make longer ball stud brackets that attach over several inches in each direction against the inside of the hood support rib to distribute the load better. Maybe that's v2.0 of this project for me, but for now I will enjoy no prop rod :dancin:
EDIT: IN MY HASTE TO GET ER DONE MY WAY, I OVERLOOKED A CRITICAL FACT THAT THE AFTERMARKET ALREADY KNEW, IF THE STUDS AREN'T LEVEL WHEN THE HOOD IS CLOSED THEY KEEP APPLYING PRESSURE UPWARDS AGAINST THE HOOD CAUSING THE HOOD TO RISE
REDLINE SOLVES THIS WITH OFFSET BRACKETS ON THE HOOD AND FENDERS THAT ALLOW THEIR STRUT TO SIT LEVEL (or closer to level) WHEN THE HOOD IS CLOSED PLUS THEY USE PROGRESSIVE STRUTS THAT DON'T PUSH FULL FORCE WHEN CLOSED. WELL WORTH $90 ALL IN
Here is how my first, attempt looked when completed
QUESTION: Do those blue plug wires make it look like a cheap import or what?
ANSWER: No, your dirty engine bay does (@zoombyu86) :lol:
